Musings from Mark Baker

Weekly Download 16.1

Here’s a recap of news and notes from around the Web that caught my attention over the past week or so.

A giant demographic bulge is about to enter 20 years of peak earning power. This is a generation that likes its on-demand services, which means the coming decades will almost certainly see more Uber rides and same-day deliveries than ever. How Aging Millennials Will Affect Technology Consumption offers a glimpse into the future.

Many years ago, someone mentioned to me that golf needs to appeal to more than middle-aged white males, and if the powers-that-be don’t address the game being too difficult, too expensive and too slow, there will be a lot of people leaving the game. The Death of Golf addresses some of the reasons why, over the past decade, the number of golfers has declined roughly 20%, with younger golfers declining even more. Although I played a lot in high school, more than a handful of years ago I decided to spend my free time cycling. It seemed to be a better form of exercise, took less time, was more convenient and less expensive. My wife may debate this rationale with me—and she has the data to back it up—but the point is that I, like many others, have left golf behind.